Letters Home
by The Prettiest Frog in the Pond
Summary: The Doctors Rockbell send a letter home to their daughter from the warzone. Oneshot. Father-daughter and family fluff.


_For my father, in loving memory. _

_I own nothing._

_

* * *

_

"Winry!" Pinako called from the front door. "Winry!"

A little blonde girl came running.

"Yes, Granny?"

Pinako smiled. "I've got a letter you might be interested in."

Winry's eyes widened. "From Mum and Dad? Gimme! _Pleeeeaaaase_, Granny?"

"Alright, alright, come inside and we'll read it together. Whoa, Winry, no need to rush, the letter'll still be there in a minute…"

But Winry had already raced inside. Pinako chuckled, shaking her head fondly, and followed after her at a slower pace.

"Okay, sit down, here it is," said Pinako. "Now, do you want to open it, Winry?"

"Yes please!" Winry beamed, and as soon as the letter was presented to her she ripped it open. "_Dear Granny and Winry…"_

_

* * *

_

"_I hope you are both well_…" Jake Rockbell was one of those people who murmured aloud as he wrote. "_We are fine, so there's no need to worry about us. Winry, I hope your reading practice is going well!_"

"Jake, don't forget to wish Edward a happy birthday! He's coming up to… is it eight or nine, now?"

"Something like that, Sarah!" Jake called back. "Ah… _Sarah and I send our best wishes to Ed on his birthday. There are some old toys of mine in the cellar that he might like, if you want to give them to him._"

"Oh… we need a hand in here, darling!"

"Okay, Sarah!" he put down the letter and pushed aside the curtain that separated the two rooms. "What's the problem?"

"We've run out of pain meds," said Sarah fretfully. "And he can't stop wriggling about, poor dear… we need you to hold him still for this injection."

"Right you are," Jake glanced down at the writhing soldier. "Don't you worry, it'll all be over soon enough," he said in the tone of doctors everywhere. "Just a little prick and you're done. We'll give you something for the pain as soon as we can, but if you don't get this you'll get infected, and we wouldn't want that, now, would we?"

The soldier just gasped at him. He grabbed the man's arms and held him as steady as he could. "Strong one, aren't you… Sarah, quickly, I don't think I can hold him too long."

"Right- and there we go. Okay, okay… get him down on the bed, Jake. That's it… maybe we should sedate him. He must be in awful pain."

Jake gave her a regretful shake of the head. "We can't afford to give him anything that's not essential, Sarah. We're running low as it is."

"Yes… I hope the delivery comes through tomorrow."

"As do I, Sarah. We can but hope, eh? If you don't need me, I'll be getting back to the letter…"

"No, we'll manage without you for a bit, I think. The Ishballen lady who came last week is feeling better, and she's offered to lend a hand. Where there's a will, there's a way!"

Jake smiled. "Right. Give her my thanks, Sarah." He leant over and gave his wife a quick kiss. "Love you."

"Love you too, Jake. Give my love to them!"

Jake disappeared beyond the curtain and picked up his pen again.

* * *

"_Sarah sends her love. There is an Ishballen lady helping us with the patients now, so things should be getting easier, and there is a shipment of medicine coming in tomorrow. Major Lewis is getting better, you'll be glad to hear! He says to be sure to take care of yourselves, and to keep sending your drawings to us, Winry!"_

"He likes them! Didn't I say he would? That'll show Ed!"

Pinako grinned. "I'm sure it will."

"Stupid meanie _bean,_" muttered Winry, being sure to put emphasis on the last word. "Call my drawings dumb, would you…"

Pinako chuckled. "Do you want to hear the rest of this letter or not?"

"Oh! Don't stop reading, Granny!" pleaded Winry.

"Alright… let me see, let me see… Sarah sends her love… Major Lewis… Here we are." she resettled herself in the chair and cleared her throat. "_In other news…"_

_

* * *

_

"_I think the fighting will stop soon." _Jake Rockbell muttered. "_The worst of it seems to be over. There are a few__ rumours__ running about that the Fuhrer is going to send the alchemists in, but I don't believe it. Surely our government is brighter than to send alchemists into a defenseless country!_ _Winry, did you know that the Ishballens don't use any alchemy at all? Not even for construction work! Speaking of alchemy, are Ed and Al still learning? They must be getting very good at it by now. I always said they were clever boys."_

"Jake, the shipment's here! _Early!_"

Jake dropped his pen. "What? Really?"

"It's a miracle!" said Sarah, her smile so wide it looked like it might crack her face. "We can give that poor man his pain meds after all. Come help us unload!"

Sure enough, around the front of their makeshift hospital was a battered looking van.

"The fighting round the eastern side's come to a standstill," said the driver, beaming. "They're even sending some of the foot soldiers back home. The higher-ups are sticking around, but you know, I think this is nearly over. It's a lot easier to get this stuff out to you when I'm not dodging bullets, I'll tell you that."

"This is fantastic," grinned Jake. "Absolutely fantastic. Sarah, would you ask the Ishballen lass to get some of the healthier men to lend a hand? What's her name, by the way?"

"Hiba. I'll tell her, you get some pain killers into that soldier."

Jake nodded and began searching through the boxes in the back of the van. Finally finding what he needed, he made his way through the hospital to the soldiers bedside.

"Here you go," he smiled. "This'll let you rest easy, now. That's it. It might take a little while to kick in… ah, you must be Hiba! We're very grateful for your help."

"You're welcome, Doctor Rockbell. You need help with the van, yes? There are three men who can help."

"Excellent!" he grinned back. "Excellent, excellent! Let's get to it."

Jake, Sarah and the three men Hiba had found set to unloading the van. Two of them were Ishballens, and one Amestrian soldier, but they didn't argue; it didn't matter what was going on outside of the hospital, inside it you did as the Doctors Rockbell asked… mostly because they weren't above punishing wrongdoers with the very nastiest of the already quite foul rations.

"You're a godsend," Jake shook the driver's hand. "Really. Thank you so much."

"Ah, it's no problem, Doc. You and your wife, you're good people. I'll have another shipment ready as soon as I can."

"Thank you," Jake repeated. "Would you mind waiting a minute though? I've got a letter to send off, I'll just finish it off."

"'Of course I'll wait! You sort out your patients and finish off that letter, Doc. I'll wait right here."

Jake retreated inside. He, Sarah and Hiba rushed around the hospital, giving every patient the medicine they'd been going without for the past few days. Once that was done, he returned to his letter.

"_Well! The shipment just came in early…"

* * *

_

"…_which is wonderful news! I really think this war will end very soon. Sarah and I will be back home before you know it! With hugs and kisses and all our love…"_

"Mum and Dad!" Winry finished, a huge smile on her face.

"That's right." said Pinako with a smile. "Why don't you go pick out some of those toys your father mentioned, hm? I'm sure Ed will love them."

"Yes, Granny." Winry raced off. Pinako watched her go.

"Ah, I'm getting far too old for all this worrying…" she said to herself. "Ah well. I'm glad they're doing well."

She folded up the letter and put it with the others. They'd write a letter back tomorrow.

* * *

"Here's that letter." Jake smiled.

"I'll stick it in the post as soon as I get back. Keep up the good work!"

The van rattled away and Doctor Rockbell smiled.

"We'll see you soon, Winry," he said to the empty air. "I promise."


End file.
